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From science to action: Promoting climate-smart agriculture

COP23, 6-17 November 2017, Bonn, Germany

Recognising that agriculture is not only part of the cause of climate change, but also part of the solution, CTA is supporting three side sessions at the 23rd UN Conferences of the Parties (COP23) negotiations in Bonn, Germany, that will be promoting climate-smart agriculture (CSA) as a way for agriculture to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Agriculture is central to any debate on global warming and extreme weather events. Interactions between the agricultural sector and climate change have undeniable implications for both global food security and our environment. Some progress towards prioritising the agriculture sector was accomplished at the Paris Agreement (COP21) in 2015, where 119 countries (including the majority of ACP countries) added agricultural mitigation to their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, or ‘climate pledges’, and 127 countries included agriculture as a priority in their adaptation pledges. In this context, CTA and its partners are using two COP23 side sessions to promote the efficiency of CSA in terms of adaptation and mitigation.

The aim of the first side session, Youth engagement in climate-smart agriculture: Opportunities and challenges, is to highlight the importance of engaging young people in the promotion of CSA solutions, changing young people’s perception towards agriculture, and providing capacity building opportunities and support to enable them to actively participate in sustainable agricultural development. The event, moderated by Dr Ajayi, will share success stories from the Collective action of a global youth network (CSAYN) about youth involvement in CSA activities, highlight the potential role of young people in CSA and share existing opportunities for them in agricultural value chains. CTA believes that the engagement of young people in agricultural value chains, and agriculture policies and interventions, is crucial to the development of the sector, therefore building the capacity of young people is one of the organisation’s core strategies.

The second session, The science-policy interface for climate-smart agriculture in action: What are the lessons learned? will uncover lessons learned from organisations – including CTA, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture and the African Development Bank – which have been working on the ‘science-policy’ interface to provide evidence to support decision-making and that fosters the agricultural transformations needed to address climate change. Dr Olu Ajayi, Senior Programme Coordinator at CTA, will be presenting his perspectives and experiences about the challenges, opportunities and lessons learned.

CTA Director Michael Hailu will also be present in Bonn for another COP23 side-event entitled Agriculture advantage: The case for climate action in agriculture. After some introductory remarks, he will moderate exchanges that build on previous sessions and include countries, international organisations and business. The involvement of these stakeholders in climate investments in agriculture is crucial for the transformation the sector requires.

CTA is a joint international institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU). CTA operates under the framework of the Cotonou Agreement and is funded by the EU.